As Jaideep Prabhu has written in the past, there is no clear ‘Indian Right’, to the extent that the conventional Right-Left binary does not apply very accurately to India’s political parties. That is because very few of India’s political parties, the mainstream ones at least, subscribe to the dichotomy of Right-Left in at least two major areas: Culture and economics. In terms of culture, political parties are painted in various hues of majoritarianism and minoritarianism, while in economics, free market policies and social welfare aren't mutually exclusive.

So the idea that what falls under the umbrella of the Indian Right in anyway resembles the American Right is flawed in any case.

Moving on to the perceived Modi-Trump links (among the latter's supporters at least) that marked this weekend's Republican Hindu Coalition event, we find another incorrect — rather glaringly so — comparison. And here, let's get down to brass tacks: Trump is not Modi.

A lazily-drawn similarity is that both men are nationalistic. But then so are Marine Le Pen and Xi Jinping, but we're yet to see French-Indians and Chinese-Indians organising gala events to mark these similarities. Further, while both Modi and Trump are indeed nationalistic, their form of nationalism varies greatly: While one espouses a more inclusive form that seeks to carry everyone along, the other pushes an exclusionary brand (which type links to which name is self-evident). In a sense, Modi's approach has more closely resembled Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's message of 'Stronger Together', than Trump's.

It's worth pointing out here that a major difference between the two is that with Trump's blunt, ill-informed rhetoric, he has gained followers through his divisive views. Modi has benefitted from the fact that members of his own party make fairly outrageous remarks, and emerged as a unifying force when he does take to his Mann ki Baats or public rallies to opine on issues.

Another lazy 'similarity' dragged out by the likes of the Republican Hindu Coalition is that Trump's 'Make America Great Again' is in the same ballpark as Modi's mantra of 'Acche Din'. And while Modi, in the buildup to the 2014 General Election, spoke about a Congress-mukt India, Trump also seeks to wipe away all the ills apparently inflicted on the US by eight years of Democrat rule. This is another strange comparison to draw. It's quite obvious that any Opposition party would cite the ruling dispensation's unsuitability in order to win an election. In fact, if an Opposition party was to express satisfaction with the way the ruling regime has been doing things, one would wonder why it is even bothering with the election.

This brings us to the ugly truth.

File images of Narendra Modi and Donald Trump. PTI and AP

What actually brought out the Hindu fundamentalist backing for Trump was his threat of a ban on Muslim immigrants — something he failed to completely back or dismiss over the course of the first two presidential debates. What this fundamentalist fringe fails to note, however, is the fact that this sort of discrimination in policy — presently on grounds of religion — could easily be transmuted to nationality over a period of time.

Trump has made 'jobs for Americans' and tightening immigration controls a major plank of his presidential campaign. To think he would abandon it on the basis of one little interaction with a section of Indian-Americans, and start handing out H1-B visas is beyond naive. And before comparisons are drawn to 'Make in India', it's worth noting that Modi's pet project — as it has been called in some quarters — was launched to increase manufacturing across the country, not to exclude other nationalities.

We could go into the differences between Modi and Trump as people: One, a self-made — that is to say, he worked his way through the cadres — career politician and the other, a man who has pretty much been handed everything in life. One who is respectful of women to the other who is-... well, you know. The dissimilarities are endless.